Lin's arrival came in the Knick of time for NBA

New York's newest star has people feeling good about NBA again

Customers wait in line to purchase Jeremy Lin shirts at the Modell's… (BRENDAN MCDERMID, Reuters…)

February 16, 2012|Keith Groller

Guess we're no longer worried about how to fill the time between the Super Bowl and the start of March Madness, huh?

Jeremy Lin has arrived at just the perfect time.

In a lockout-free NBA season, the New York Knicks guard might have made this startling emergence in November or December, and that would have meant few people would have paid attention because of how the NFL dominates the fall landscape.

But coming now, in what are the dog days of the sports calendar (hey, even the Westminster Dog Show is a big deal in February), when we are positively starving for something to hold our interest, Lin has captivated a large portion of the country and brought more regular-season interest to the NBA than it has experienced in years.

By now, you know his story and have heard all of the unique elements that have made him the toast of Manhattan.

Lin's story resonates and appeals on so many levels, and was sorely needed in a league that had an image problem.

Until Lin-sanity's arrival, many people waited till the playoffs to watch, if they watched at all.

And if they cared at all, it was because they were rooting against the perceived spoiled brats and ball-hogs like Kobe and LeBron rather than rooting for anybody.

Now, it seems, Kim is giving the average fan somebody to root for, because of his unusual story in reaching center stage at the "World's Most Famous Arena."

Can it continue?

You bet ESPN, ABC, TNT and every media outlet that covers NBA basketball definitely hopes so and they will milk it for whatever it's worth.

No one is rooting harder for Lin than the media, especially since this is all unfolding in the media capital of the world, where the Knicks have been irrelevant for a decade.

"The Knicks have been so poor for so long," said the New York Daily News' Frank Isola on Scott Van Pelt's ESPN radio show on Wednesday. "They haven't won a playoff game since 2001 and last year they had their first winning season in 10 years, and yet, believe it or not, people in New York are very arrogant when it comes to basketball and we think we invented the point-guard position.

"So for fans to see a guy who moves the ball and seems to bring out the joy in his teammates, it reminds people of the Knicks of 1969 and '73. Those teams were so beloved because they were terrific players, terrific guys and they shared the ball. Everybody has wanted the Knicks to be that type of team again, and instead, they have been absolutely brutal."

With the Knicks surging to join the 76ers and Celtics at the top of the Atlantic Division, the NBA talk might continue around here for a few more weeks, or at least until Opening Day at Citizens Bank Park or the first OTA at the Eagles' NovaCare Complex.

Catching Phillies fever

Comcast SportsNet has sent out a release promising Phillies fans with the most Spring Training programming ever. It all begins this Saturday with Leslie Gudel's regular reports from Clearwater.

Comcast SportsNet and The Comcast Network will air 14 live Spring Training games, plus the networks will air a weekly team special called "Phillies Focus." Regular programs such as "Daily News Live" and "SportsNite" will also provide your fill of the Phils.

The first game is at 1 p.m. on March 1 when the Phillies meet the Yankees in what many area baseball fans undoubtedly hope is a precursor to many more special meetings in October.

Triple-A Yankees

Bob Capasso, the longtime sports anchor at Blue Ridge Cable, said the cable company won't be doing any Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees games this year because all of the team's games are on the road while Lackawanna County Stadium is remodeled.

"I'm definitely going to miss it because we did 30 games last year," Capasso said. "It was a lot of fun, probably some of the most fun I've had in 21 years at Blue Ridge. It was well-received by the fans, too. They're supposed to come back to the stadium in the spring of 2013 and hopefully Blue Ridge will pick up the coverage again."

Jaws lost his bite on MNF

A three-man booth can become quite crowded when it comes to NFL broadcasts, and with Jon Gruden emerging as the lead analytical voice at ESPN, it's no wonder that Ron Jaworski will now only be doing studio work.

The three-man booth has vanished in football, and no one really has had any chemistry with the trio concept since Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell and Dandy Don put MNF on the map a couple of decades ago.

Jaworski is a very precise, very prepared X's and O's guy and he will always find work in the TV business. ESPN was wise to keep him around on their studio shows.

But as for game commentary, two analysts are often one too many.

Eagles fans will undoubtedly miss him because even as he has grown in national stature, Jaworski has remained an unabashed Eagles fan who seemingly wouldn't want to live and work anywhere else.

KEITH'S CAN'T MISS — The debut of the new season of "Celebrity Apprentice"on NBC on Sunday night, which will feature many colorful characters, including Nazareth's Michael Andretti, all trying to avoid getting fired by Donald Trump.